On Wednesday evening, October 26th, the North End Branch Library presented a tutorial/jazz concert entitled “Riffs & Raps: Jazzin’ the Generations.” It featured a veteran trio of jazzmen: Arni Cheatham on saxophones, Bill Lowe on trombone and tuba, and Kevin Harris on keyboards. They gave the audience a history of the blues, jazz and even rap. The first piece played was “BlueMonk” by Thelonious Monk, to demonstrate beats, bars and measures. Examples of jazz tunes included Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn’s “Daydream” (Cheatam) and “Caravan” (Lowe). Cheatam brought the house down with George Carlin’s hilarious “A Modern Man” http://www.freewebs.com/amodernmangeorgecarlin/, showing that rap’s been around longer than we thought. The group concluded with “Amazing Grace,” first played traditionally, then as a gospel song. The concert was well received by the crowd.
Photos and text submitted by Jim Salini. Find out more about the Friends of the North End Branch Library at www.FriendsNELibrary.org.
